U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY ^-BULLETIN No. 20. 



B. T. OAlrLOWAY, Chief of Burean. 



MANUFACTURE 



SEMOLINA AND MACARONI. 



ROBEKT }'. SKINNER, 

COXSUI ( fKNKKAL AT MABSEILLEi 



VEGETABLE PATHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS. 




WASHINGTON: 

C40VERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

1902. 



.** 




Qass_ TSL/s-y 

Book _ i£A 7- 



J6, 






U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY -BULLETIN No. 20. 



K. T. GALLOWAY, Chief of Bureau. 



MANUFACTURE 



SEMOLINA AND MACARONI. 



ROBERT P. SKINNER, 
Consul General at Marseille. 



VEGETABLE PATHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS. 




WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

190 2. 









LiriTER OP TRANSMITTAL 



U. s. Department of Agriculture, 

Bureau of Plant Km stri . 

Office <>k the Cum i . 
Washington, />. C, Februarys, 1902. 
Siu: I have the honor to transmit herewith a paper on the manufac- 
ture of semolina and macaroni, and respectfully recommend that it 
be published as Bulletin No. 20 of the Bureau series. The report «n- 
prepared by Hon. Robert P. Skinner, Consul General at Marseille, 
France, and was submitted by the Pathologist and Physiologist. 
Respectfully. 

11. T. Galloway, 

( '/lief of Bureau. 
Hon. James Wilson, 

S( >■/■: tary of Agriculture. 



MAR 31 I9C I 

D. or D. 



PR HP ACE 



For several years past investigations of macaroni wheats have been 
carried on under the auspices of this Office for the purpose of pro- 
moting the wheat industry in this country, the work being in charge 
of the cerealist, Mr. Mark Alfred Carleton. A large amount of seed 
of the best quality has been imported from Russia. Algeria, and 
Argentina, and many of the varieties have been found to be admirably 
adapted for cultivation in our Great Plains region. Farmers have 
become much interested in the subject and the acreage planted to maca- 
roni wheats is increasing' each year with remarkable rapidity. As 
the use of the true durum wheats for macaroni is entirely new in this 
country, there is a great desire on the part of millers and macaroni 
manufacturers to understand more concerning the process of grinding 
these wheats into semolina and of making from this the various forms 
of macaroni. 

The largest semolina factories arc in France and Italy, where the 
greatest amount of good macaroni is produced. We are indebted to 
our consuls, Mr. Robert P. Skinner, Marseille, France, author of this 
report, and Mr. John C. Covert, Lyon, France, for much valuable 
information on the subject, and considerable of this has been published 
in Bulletin No. 3 of the Bureau — Macaroni Wheats. 

The present report is of interest to the farmers in regions where 
the macaroni wheats can lie grown, and of special interest to the millers 
and manufacturers in this country, and Mr. Skinner suggests that 
more attention lie given to the export of semolina, as well as macaroni 
wheat. 

Albert F. Woods. 
Pathologist and Physiologist. 

Office of the Pathologist and Physiologist. 

Washington, I>. ('.. February 7, 1902. 

3 



CONTENTS. 

Page 

Introduction - ' 

A neglected opportunity ' 

Development of the industry in Franc- 

French Metadine' wheats 

1 1 rout li of the demand for macaroni "i 

Need of growing the durum wheat . . * H 

The market for durum wheat 1- 

WiM Goose wheat '-' 

Prospective demand for American hard wheat and semolina 13 

European methods and products !•• 

Scouring the grain 

Manufacture of semolina - 

Using w heat from different countries !■' 

Cleaning the wheat "» 

Percentage of semolina in different wheats. -° 

Importance of cleanliness 20 

The milling process - -" 

( Classification of products '-- 

Manufacture ■ if macaroni 

The process 

Mixing the semolina -'> 

Curing operations - -' 

Durum wheat for bread Hour -"■' 

Tahles of exports, imports, and prices '- -"■' 



\ I IONS. 



Page. 
Pi itj I. Fig. I. Flour and semolina mill of Allatini & Co. at Salonica. 

Fig. 2. Macaroni factory of F. Scarainelli File at Marseille 10 

II. Different grades of bolting cloth for separating and classifying 

semolina 22 

III. Sieves used in the sasseur 22 

IV. Fig. 1.— Vermicelli press at thefactoryof F. Scaramelli File. Fig. 

2. — Section of open-air curing department at tin- factory • f F. 

Scaramelli Fils 28. 

Y. Various forms of macaroni 28 

1 1 \ i 1 1.. i 

Fig. I. Savit and Boutet device for washing grain is 

2. Drying column n\ iili scouring device attached hi 

:;. Typical French 1 1 1 i 1 1 i n -_r machine with four cylinders l'I 

l. ( niss section of r. >I1.ts used in producing semolina l'I 

rhe sasseur 22 

6 rhe sass r in operation 23 



B. P. [—28. V. P. P. I.— 

MANUFACTURE OF SEMOLINA AND MACARONI. 



INTRODUCTION. 
A NEGLECTED OPPORTUNITY. 

The Secretary of Agriculture has observed that an increase of 1 
bushel per acre in the average yield of American wheat would add 
enormously to the wealth of our country. He might have added, with 
equal truth, that the advantage of this increased production would be 
minimized unless remunerative markets could he found for the increas- 
ing surplus, and as it is the peculiar Held of the Department of Agri- 
culture to increase crops, so it is the especial duty of the consular 
service to seek for new markets. There is a market in Marseille that 
has grown from nothing within the last thirty years and is increasing 
by leaps and bounds, not only in this city, but throughout all Europe, 
its present daily requirements being 24,000 bushels of wheat. The 
ebb and Mow of this market within recent years has been controlled 
by crops and not by the consuming public. The cry of this trade is 
for raw material, ami. according to the last available expression of 
the Marseille Chamber of Commerce, the manufacturers of this city. 
deprived of a sufficient quantity of hard wheats from Russia, have 
been obliged to employ the "metadine" wheats of interior France. 
which, owing to their inferiority, "have affected the quality of the 
edible pastes, the consumption of which has therefore been dimin- 
ished." The raw material for this industry consists of hard or durum 
wheat, which is ground into semolina and then manufactured into 
macaroni, the latter word being here used as a generic term. The 
business has developed in the colonies of Algeria and Tunis a great 
wheat-growing industry. After satisfying domestic demands, the 
manufacturers of Marseille have exported a surplus amounting, in 
1900, to 81,403,266 pounds of semolina and 10,811,356 pound- of 
manufactured macaroni. 

Although one of the greatest wheat-growing nations of the world, 
France is prevented, because of its soil and climate, from producing 
the grain essential to the life of this industry; and the United States, 
the greatest of all wheat-growing countries, has yet to send its Hist 
pound to this port for the purpose above described. My present 



8 \l\Mi ■ \i 111:1 OF SEMOLINA AND MAI vRONI. 

object is, therefore, t" urge upon our wheat-growing farmer* the 
further specialization of their business, first, as a means of engaging 
in this Mediterranean trade and, second, in order that we may build 
tip in the United States a demand for the food products which we can 
have in all their excellence only after we have produced a sufficient 
supply of tlic durum wheal needed. 

'I'd the la\ reader I may say thai tin- so-called "hard wheat" of the 
United Stair- is nut at all tlir hard wheal <>t' Europe, and the semolina 
now being manufactured in a small wa\ in the United States from our 
native wheats, while a worthy product, is not acceptable in this mar- 
krt as a competitor with the semolina of first quality of I oral manufac- 
ture. Yri there is greal encouragement to further effort and closer 
stud} mm the part of our manufacturers in the success already attained: 
for. if the American product of tin' present is unavailable in France, 
the doors already swing inward for it elsewhere. In proof of this 
I have been shown by a Marseille exporter a letter written from 
Russia, in which it i- stated that the Russian manufacturers ""ran not 
to-day pay thr prici' demanded | for semolina] in Marseille, because the 
American granulated flours are offered cheaper; that is to say, $4.25 
per LOO kilos (220 pounds), or 50 cents less than French quotations." 

It i- insufficient, however, to have made merely a good beginning. 
Every student of the situation, every importer of wheat, recognizes 
that we are lacking in the prime essential to complete success, that i-. 
a wheat ranking with thr macaroni wheats of Sicily, Russia, and 
Algeria. 

DEVELOPMENT OF MM [NDUSTR1 in FRANCE. 

If thr average person should be asked whence macaroni comes, 

hr would answer immediately ••from Italy." At ■ time this was 

t rue. and it arose from the fact that the native wheat of Sicily and that 
southern portion of 1 1 ; 1 1 \ known a- La Pouille possessed all the attri- 
butes deemed desirable in the typical macaroni grain. The industry 
had its birth in Naples, and the reputation of the Neapolitan manu- 
facturers rest- to day mainly upon the fad that they hail thi- wheat 
with which to work. In the course of years the Italians have neglected 
the cultivation of the grain, man} wheat fields having been planted 

over with vine-, so thai now. conunercialh speaking, the hard wheat 
of Sicily and La l'ouille is unimportant: nevertheless, it- quality is 
as highly appreciated today a- ever, and modern farming in Algeria 
owe- much to the lessons learned from Sicily. With the growth in 
their business and the decrease in their supph of home-grown grain, 
the Italian manufacturers looked elsewhere for their supply of raw 
material, and they turned naturally to Marseille, a city where capital 
and business enterprise abounded. The Marseillais, always greal 
manufacturers and exporters of Sour, rapidly grasped the situation, 



INTRODUCTION. 9 

began to import durum wheat from Russia and Algeria, ground it into 
Coarse flour — which we call ••granulated flour" or ••semolina." or in 
French " semoule" — and sold it to the Italians. The exports of this 
product from Marseille to Italy last year amounted to 3,510,111 pounds. 

It was but a step from this starting point to the manufacture of the 
macaroni itself; and one improvement following another, and, the pub- 
lic demand for macaroni and other edible pastes rapidly increasing, 
they established large factories alongside their mills, and exportation 
began to all parts of the world, even to Italy itself. With the intro- 
duction of the Budapest roller process of grinding flour, the business 
expanded upon modern lines; and, whereas years ago every Italian 
family made its own macaroni and hung it out on the racks to dry, the 
manufacture has now become an industry of first-rate importance, 
requiring capital and enterprise. 

As this is an elementary discussion of the matter. I venture to 
observe that our own homely dish of "noodles" could be traced back 
to the Italian macaroni. The difference between the two is that the mac- 
aroni is manufactured from coarse hard-wheat Hour, or semolina, in 
making which the manufacturer attempts to remove the outer husk 
and break up the grains so as to secure granules rounded and glazed, 
instead of the impalpable powder of which ordinary flour consists. 
Macaroni (which I shall frequently use as a generic term covering all 
the manufactured products of semolina) is, strictly speaking, appli- 
cable only to the long, hollow tubes of dry food paste. This paste 
consists merely of semolina and water kneaded together; and it is 
converted into hundreds of forms, sometimes inelegantly referred to 
in English as "edible pastes," or in French as "pates alimentaires." 

FKENCII METAPINF. WHEATS. 

Until something like ten years ago, when the present French tariff 
upon wheat was imposed, all of the French macaroni was manufactured 
from semolina made from hard durum wheat. At that time consider- 
able quantities of mixed wheat, or metadine. were grown in France, 
but were manufactured into common flour, and were highly regarded. 
During the last ten years a steady increase has been noted in the 
amount of this wheat grown in France from durum seed, and more 
and more of it has been used for the manufacture of macaroni pastes. 
It is recognized that the semolina manufactured from these wheats is 
inferior to the standard Marseille type of semolina, but the difference 
in price on account of the tariff makes it advantageous to use the 
domestic wheat. The extension of the manufacturing business has 
slowly progressed from the city of Marseille to a very considerable 
portion of France, in which these mixed wheats are grown. The 
Marseille manufacturers have been slow to recognize that the growth 
of this branch of the semolina business has been such as to constitute 



H' MANUFACTURE OF SEMOLINA \M> MACARONI. 

it a very respectable competitive force. The macaroni manufacturer 
never uses the metadin£ semolina without an admixture <>!' more or 
less durum wheal semolina, and the product, which is much cheaper 
in the market, is consumed almosl entirely in France. The product 
of this mixed semolina is never macaroni, properly speaking, which 
{•an only be manufactured successfully from a strictly hard \\ heat, but 
the mctacliiir semolina makes a satisfactory macaroni paste, sold in 
the form of vermicelli, escargots, stars, and other arbitrary shapes 
used for soups and various dishes very popular in France. 

The metadine' w heal of France, peculiar to the I department of < hard 
and that of Vaucluse, is a half-hard wheat, resulting from the sowing 
of a genuine durum which deteriorates. The wheal produced can 
not be planted for a second crop. The durum requires less care than 
sofl wheat in the regions where it is grown, and the yield is larger. 
This wheat also resists climatic changes much more readily than the 
native French wheat, and can better stand a dry season, 

GROWTH OF THE DEMAND FOR MACARONI. 

More interesting than the development of the manufacture of semo- 
lina is the history of the increase in the consumption of the edible 
product. 

The broad lines of this development have been thus described by 
Mr. Francois Scaraiuelli. one of the most important manufacturers 
of edible pastes in the world, ami an exporter of large quantities to 
the United Mate- (Plate I. lie-. 1 1. Mr. Scaramelli -aw 

't'ln- manufacture of macaroni pastes has doubled in Marseille within ten 

and the d stii isumption of the product lias also increased and continues to 

increase enor usly. In 1866, when ] first traveled about the country selling the 

output of our then small factory, 1 once reached the village of the Grande Combe, 

where I found that th ily dealer in macaroni was the local druggist, who said that 

lie bought 25 pounds per annum, which was sold exclusively for consumption by 
invalids. At the present time, the same village takes 25,000 pounds of macaroni per 
month, which i- sold practically to every family in tin- place. It lias her., me 
a staple article of diet, replacing to a large extent the peasant soups, formerly made 
! and vegetables. In the city of Marseille, the consumption has tripled in 
twenty-five years. In 1872 there were ten macaroni factories in Marseille, producing 
220 pounds per day each. I ei ire now 55 local factories, turning out a total ol 

35,000 pounds per daj . The industry requires the labor of from 400 to 500 men, 
and from 500 to 600 women, according to the season. With two or three exceptions, 
these macaroni factories are very small affairs, catering to a local demand, but the 
aggregate of their business is lari',-. I naturall) leek for the gradual extinguishment 
of these smaller concerns, and the absorption of their businesses by the larger. When 
the consumption of edible pastes began m move forward with giant strides the manu- 
facture of the article seemed to promise large returns t" persons of limited means, 
1'iit the improvements in tin' mechanical prt icesses and the necessitj for heavy invest- 
ment m order t" keep abreast of the times is bound t" force weak competition from 

Id. lam speaking of the manufacture of macaroni exclusively; There are 
127 mills for grinding grain in Marseille, of which 50 make more or less semolina, 



Bui. 20, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. ot Agriculture. 



Plate I. 




Fig. 1.— Macaroni Factory of F. Scaramelu Fils at Marseille. 



jmrnri * 






iWilia 




Fig. 2.— Flour and Semolina Mill of Allatini & Co. at Salonica. 



INTRODUCTION. 1 1 

and 20 are devoted exclusively to this trade. It will thus be seen that the industry 
is a very important one from every point of view. 

The extension of this business in Marseille is in les.s degree observ- 
able throughout the Mediterranean country. Semolina mills have 
been erected or are in course of construction in all the important 
wheat markets, and in the Levant, where the manufacture of this 
article dates from very recent years, the increase is especially note- 
worthy. Perhaps the largest semolina mill in the world (Plate I, tig. 2) 
is that owned by the great Italian firm of Allatini & Co.. recently 
completed at Salonica, and having a consumption of 2,000 quintals 
(1 quintal = 220.46 pounds) daily of hard wheat. The reason for this 
rapid extension of the business is that macaroni in its numerous forms 
is a palatable, nutritious article which satisfies the desire for food :it a 
very moderate cost, Iargily replacing meat dishes, which are steadily 
becoming more expensive throughout the world. There is no pretense 
that macaroni is a •"health food" or a "breakfast dish."' or that it con- 
tains a high percentage of nutrients or heat units. It is simply a fond 
which appeases hunger and satisfies a healthy appetite. The excel- 
lence of this food is not generally known throughout the United States. 
The value of the declared exports of macaroni from Marseille to the 
United States for the fiscal year ended June. 30. 1901, was only ^44..">o4; 
and, while this was hut a fraction of the total amount imported, it is 
reasonable to suppose that the grand total was not large. 

With the exception of a few especially well-served markets, the 
average macaroni sold in the United States has passed its prime before 
it reaches the consumer. Most of us have seen a few brittle lengths 
of stale vermicelli or still staler macaroni exposed for sale in glass 
jars, like old-fashioned stick candy, in the country grocery stoic. 
Few of our housewives have studied the possibilities of fresh macaroni 
as an article of diet. In Europe, on the other hand, it is sold when in 
its best state, and after passing through the hands of a competent 
cook can hold its own in a hundred different forms with any compet- 
ing product which may be served, from soup to dessert. 

NEED OF GROWING THE DURUM WHEAT. 

The recipe for making a good dish of macaroni is like the famous 
rule for making a rabbit pie, ; * First catch your rabbit;" and the sur- 
prising fact in this connection is that, at this time, the United States 
has yet to grow the quality of wheat essential to the macaroni indus- 
try. 1 ' Before I saw the immense importance of the macaroni trade as 

"The total import for the year ending June 30, 1901 was 18,186,399.83 pounds, 

valued at $735,239.49— M. A. Cable ox. 

b About one million bushels of the durum wheat will probably be produced in 1902 — 
M. A. C. 



1 ■_' MANUFACTURE < >K SEMOLINA \M> MACARONI. 

a means of augmenting our exports of wheat, and being confidenl that 
in grain we could supply anything thai the world miylit demand, I 
sent reports on the subjecl to the Department of State, written in L899, 

advising exporters of il d of this market foragood hard wheat. 

To my astonishment it was promptly developed that we had no wheat 
of the quality required, and that the so-called hard \\ In -at of the United 
States contained grains differing in degree of hardne'ss, which speedily 
clogged the milling machinery, and was entirely untitled for the pur- 
pose. The Department of Agriculture has since — * - r 1 1 experts to 
Europe to study the question. I have no doubt that their researches 
will add much more t<> the stuck of useful information than m\ pres- 
ent effort to describe the business as seen by a layman, and as it is 
conducted to-day. 

THE MARKET FOR DURUM WHEAT. 
WILD Gl ii ISE WHEAT. 

Before proceeding to a inure technical account of this matter, it 
may be useful to report the results of a number of interviews with 
Mr. (■. P. Bottazzo. Mr. Bottazzo has created a very large business 
for himself in this city as a broker of semolina, and hi> views of the 
possibility of Berious American competition arc entitled to high respect. 
It is fair to mention that hi- opinion of the Canadian Goose wheat 
«hieh he describes is not shared by all <>t' the experts in this city.* 
Mr. Edniond Bendit, a very extensive importer of grain, to whom a 
a sample of the wheat in question was submitted, declared that, while 
appearing to be of excellent quality, and of a hardness sufficient for 
the semolina trade, it could not be claimed for it that it equaled the 

best Russian wheat. Substantially the sai ipinion \\a- given to me 

by the firm of Allatini & < '". These are manufacturers of semo- 
lina at Salonica, and one of the most important houses in Marseille. 
Both Mr. Allatini and Mr. Fernandez of the same firm commended the 

appearance of the wheat and of the semolina it produced, but seei I 

t<> think that it was deficient in gluten, and could not be relied upon 
to produce a satisfactory macaroni without the admixture id' a stronger 
product. Mr. Bottazzo's less measured statement is as follows; 

the 1st of May, 1901, we have received at Marseille about lee. eon tons of 
■■v lieni, shipped bj New York firms, and supposed to have been grown in 
Manitoba. 1 am satisfied that it has been grown from Russian seed, and it i- per- 
haps three or four crops removed from the original see. I. In past years, other Goose 
wheal has been offered for sale, but the quality until this year has never been such 
liable 'i- to use it for the manufacture of semolina. This < loose « heal of w hich 

I speak is as g 1 as any macaroni « heal ever sold in this market. Ii is all being 

reus 1 iii the se Una mills at Marseille, t" the entire satisfaction of the pur- 
It should be observed that Canadian (ioose wheal is already known t" be inferior 
to that grown in North and South Dakota M \ • 



THE MARKET FOR DURUM WHEAT. 13 

chaser?. It sell? at from 3 to 5 cents Irs- than superior Taganrog, and it ought to 
command as high a price, but being less well known it lias that disadvantage to 
overcome. It contains from 12 to 14 per cent of dry gluten. 

PROSPECTIVE DEMAND FOR AMERICAN HARD WHEAT AM) SEMOLINA. 

Continuing in response to queries, Air. Bottazzo said: 

I am not interested in the development of American nmerce, but 1 consider 

that the laws of trade are higher than those of governments; that business should be 
developed under circumstances most favorably adapted for such development, and 
that the transfer of an industry from one point to another is generally compensated 
for by some advantage accruing to the locality thus temporarily affected. It is for 
this reason that I believe America to he capable not only of supplying the hard 
wheat requisite for the macaroni trade, but the semolina as well. I call your special 
attention to the fact that, up to this time, you have only concerned yourself with 
the production of a hard wheat for our market. I ask that you go a step further, 
and convert that wheat into semolina. You tell me that semolina is a perishable 
product, but I answer you out of my experience that this is largely a matter of 
assumption. If semolina is thoroughly well made in the first instance, there is no 
question that it will stand transportation, and retain all of its good qualities for any 
reasonable length of time. I have personally known semolina properly manufac- 
tured that was found to he in a perfect state after eighteen months. Our difficulty 
in Marseille is this: We receive wheats from all parts of the world, varying in 
degree of hardness, differing in the size of the kernels, and in their component parts. 

The mills themselves are i Iparatively small. Considerable quantities of semolina 

are manufactured to order for commission houses. Thus the manufacturer is obliged 
to change his process to suit rapidly varying conditions, and is never enabled to keep 
his machinery geared to any average standard of wheat, and for that matter never 
acquires an absolute knowledge of any one wheat, such as your millers in the United 
States are able to acquire. You will have no difficulty, if you pay proper attention 
to the matter, in growing macaroni wheat in the United States in unlimited quanti- 
ties, and. having done that, your manufacturers will have- no excuse for not operating 
their mills year in and year out with the same kind of wheat, thus permitting them 
to study and correct every delect and place upon the market a semolina equal to the 
best of which we now know. 

It is believed that a market could be built up in Europe for from 10,000 to 15,000 
bushels of semolina a day. Let your manufacturers describe to me their system, tell 
me whether they wash or do not wash their wheat, the time they devote to the scour- 
ing process, the exact interval of time between the sci airing process and the beginning 
of the grinding; lot them describe their means of purification of the semolina after 
grinding, and if they will semi to me every detail, 1 will return to them all the supple- 
mentary in formal ion they require to achieve a satisfactory result. Let them send sam- 
ples of their actual production. The semolina now manufactured in the United States 
and of which I have seen samples, although produced from comparatively soft wheat, 
is yet a marketable product. [ am satisfied that firms now in this business in a tenta- 
tive way could very readily equip themselves for the production of a superior grade 
of semolina. The first thing for us to have in Marseille is samples. 

EUROPEAN' METHODS AND PRODUCTS. 

Speaking of the European macaroni wheats and semolina, and the 
methods employed in the manufacture of the latter. Mr. Bottazzo said: 

When different qualities ..f wheat are mixed before the grinding process begins, the 
product is inferior. The miller has need of but one particular quality of wheat 



11 MANUFACTURE OF SEMOLINA ami MACARONI. 

i" I luce semolina. After the semolina is manufactured, a mixture is sometimes 

effected, in order to secure a certain standard. No hard wheat has less gluten than 
the h heal of Salonica, and the « heal of Salonica has alwaj - stood at the head, because 
it is always handsome « hen purified. < me of the principal manufacturers of edible 
pastes in Marseille purchases semolina from each of the fifteen millers and the 
semolina of the same size, is mixed together indifferently for the manufacture of the 
product. Of course, when a particularly fine macaroni is required for a special pur- 
pose, there is a special effort made t" procure semolina corresponding t" the high 
grade of macaroni required. The greal point concerning semolina is it- purity. 

rhe territory northwest and northeast of the Azov furnishes the hard wheal most 
appreciated at present, and containing the greatest quantity of gluten. An. r Russia, 
and in order of importance as countries grow ing hard grain, come Algeria and Tunis, 
India, and Chile. The Chilean wheat has a rubbery quality, and is neither regular 
nor hard. 

h 1-1 — ible to arrange a mill for the manufacture of either semolina or flour by 
tii" change of cylinders, but the product is necessaril) inferior, To produce semolina 
of the first quality the mill should be constructed exclusively for that purpose. 
Here it is necessary to wash the wheat, for the simple reas d that it is very dirty, and 
contains much earth and other impurities. But in America a thorough dry cleaning 
would suffice, and it will be necessarj to follow this plan in order that the product 
may be preserved. It is perfectly possible t>> dry-clean the wheat, and brush it, by 
employing what we call "desagregeurs." Lfter passing through this machine, if the 
process is well carried out, the wheat is absolutely pure, and the semolina resulting 
from the manufacture of wheat thus cleaned may bi preserved for a long time. The 
semolina manufactured at Marseilles is never dried after manufacture, for the greal 
reason that it is consumed in this market promptly, and the process is unnecessary. 
The production of semolina involves the production also of a certain percentage of an 
inferior Hour. 

Semolina has been manufactured here for sixty or eight) years. The business has 
been materially extended within the last twenty-five years. Marseille is the center 
of the industry The extension dates mure particularly from the introduction of the 
purifiers in mills. At present the industry is extending rapidly throughout Italj : in 
France, in the cities of Valence, Lyon, Montelimar, and Toulouse; in Germany at 
Mannheim and Konigsberg; in Russia, in Greece, and in Tunis and Algiers. We 
receive at Marseille annually 100,000 barrels of two hundredweight of semolina from 
Constantine, Algeria. \t Salonica 1 .nun sacks are made per day, and sold very gen- 

illy. At Smyrna also then' are mills, which, however, are verj bad, and the sem- 
olina is used for the manufacture of " pates alimentaires," although a certain quantity 
is also used in the manufacture of various kind- of bread. 

SCOURING lilt GRAIN. 

Before leaving Mr. Bottazzo's statement, it should be added thai his 
contention in favor of eliminating the washing process in American 
semolina mills opens a field of contro\ ersy which only actual experience 
can settle. While Mr. Bottazzo assumes the washing process to be 
necessary in Marseille because of the foreign matter generally found 
in <>M World wheat, and while I have found other practical men \\li>> 
charge that the scouring process is to some extent adopted in order t<> 
give the producl additional weight, 1 have equally strong expert opin- 
ion i" the etleet that the iii< >i si rii i ii^ of tin- grain enables the removal 
of the bran in less broken particles, while dry grinding cause- it to 



MANUFACTURE OF SEMOLINA. 15 

crack and enter into the semolina itself, from which it can no< be 
entirely removed. Mr. Bottazzo's statement was shown to Mr. Jean 
Baptiste Lautier, a practical miller, who said: 

Mr. Bottazzo is not entirely correct in his assumption that satisfactory results can be 
obtained in the manufacture of semolina without the scouring of the grain. ( )ur expe- 
rience in Marseille is that the moistening of the grain causes the bran to Make off in 
large particles 'luring the milling process, enabling us to secure not only a first-class 
quality of semolina, but also a merchantable quality of Hour. When the wheat is 
dry-cleaned the bran, being more brittle, enters into the various products the more 
readily, and while the semolina thus produced is of good quality, the flour is of 
inferior quality and very unattractive in appearance. The proportion of tine semo- 
lina obtained by the dry-milling process is about the same; but the relative propor- 
tion of large semolina, which is the most desired, is from 3 per cent to 4 per cent less. 
The practice of semiring the wheat is subject to no exceptions in Marseille, and the 
matter of moistening it is so important, especially in its effect upon the appearance 
of the semolina, that if the scouring process is insufficient in any respect the manu- 
facturer is sure to bring reproach upon himself. Absolutely the only dry-milling 
undertaken in Marseille is for the account of Jewish clients, who require the flour 
for the production of their unleavened bread once a year. If the only question con- 
fronting the manufacturer was to preserve his product for a considerable length of 
time, doubtless an attempt to avoid the washing of the grain would lie advisable. 

I might suggest one method of securing the advantages of both wet and dry clean- 
ing sometimes followed in this city. If instead of permitting the wheat to repose 
for from 10 to 40 hours, as is usually the case, alter passing through the water, it 
should be carried immediately to the machinery, the outer husk only being damp- 
ened would be removable in large flakes, and the speed with which the operation 
would be carried out would at the same time prevent the humidity from penetrating 
the kernel. I should be inclined to recommend this system in the United States, 
where the preservation of the semolina for a number of months would be important. 
In this manner the bran would be prevented from entering into the flour and 
semolina, and, while the flour itself might be perhaps a little less attractive in 
appearance, the net difference to the miller would be small. 

MANUFACTURE OF SEMOLINA. 

USING WHEAT FROM DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. 

The statistics relating to the importation of wheat at Marseille 
appear elsewhere. There are 20 mills requiring from 7,000 to 8,000 
quintals (1 quintal = 220.46 pounds) of raw material per day. There 
are also 10 mills which grind alternately the hard wheat for the maca- 
roni trade and soft wheat Hour for general purposes, according to the 
market. Mills of this class require about 3,000 quintals per day. 
There are 60 mills in this city grinding soft wheat into flour to the 
extent of from 12,000 to 15,000 quintals per day. The most impor- 
tant Hour mill in this city requires 800 quintals per day of wheat, and 
the average requirement is from 200 to Moo. In addition to the mills 
mentioned there are 5 other mills which grind beans into Hour, requir- 
ing an aggregate of 1,000 quintals per day. 

The durum wheats of Algeria, although containing less gluten than 



16 MANUFACTl KK <>k SEMOLINA \M> MAI SiR( Nl. 

the semolina wheats of Russia, constitute ;i standard type for the man- 
ufacture of semolina, as the product is shiny and clear. As these hard 
wheats are very often insufficient in quantity for local purposes, and 

furthermore lack the necessar} proporti t' gluten, the resultant 

product of the wheat is \er\ frequently mixed by the millers accord- 
ing i" their special interests and the market prices. < Ordinarily Alge- 
rian or Tunisian wheat is mixed with Russian or Turkish wheat, and 
sometimes with Indian. One authority was asked to supply formulae 
for the composition of a theoretically perfect semolina, but he replied 
that, while millers and others might be disposed to discuss chemical 
composition in pedantic fashion, in practice there was very little 
attempt to realize elaborately spun theories, Millers and macaroni 
manufacturers by long experience were familiar with the appearance 
of semolina that would yield a certain quality of macaroni, and when 
they went into the market thej smoothed down a sample on a sheet 
of paper, held it up to the light, looked horizontally across it. and if 
it was bright and clear, they bought. Wheats are always ground 
separately. Sometimes the manufacturer mixes the semolina himself, 
and sometimes the manufacturer of the macaroni does thi~. 

CLEANING THE WHEAT. 

The manufacture of the semolina begins with the cleaning of the 
wheat, including washing by water. The Russian wheats contain more 
moisture than the Algerian, and should be dampened more Lightly .and 
allowed to repose during a shorter period between th< scouring and 
the beginning of the grinding. The length of the repose after the 
scouring is a very delicate question for the Marseille miller to deter- 
mine, as the moisture must penetrate to the heart of the grain in order 
that the bran and the cells of the wheat may be less broken up into 
flour, which of course the semolina manufacturer wishes t<> avoid. 
In the <>ld days of grinding with millstones the wheat was not allowed 
t<> rest between the scouring and the grinding, but it was found by this 
means that the outer husk absorbed all the moisture and the by-prod- 
ucts of the manufacture of se lina could not be secured. Since the 

application of the roller process in L881 a uniform >\ stem of procedure 
lias been followed in all of the French semolina mills, ami distincl 
progress has been made in the intrinsic value of the product and in 
the amount of semolina per quintal of grain. This washing process 
is so important that I give a description of a typical French scouring 
system written by M. Charles Daritin. 

In the manufacture of semolina in France, the wheat is first scoured 
with water, then dried, and then a second time moistened. It reposes, 
as previouslj explained, after the second application of moisture, for 
ten to fortj hours before going to the cylinders. The first scouring 



MANUFACTURE OF SEMOLINA. IT 

I venture to describe in some detail, using for the purpose the words 
of Mr. Dantin: 

An excess of humidity in the wheat exercises a dangerous effect upon the flour, 
involving the alteration of the gluten, development of organisms, disagreeable odor, 
and gray color. The maximum proportion of water should be I s percent, as milling 
becomes very difficult after the proportion reaches 20 per cent, the cylinders bo ant- 
ing clogged. As hard wheats art- uniformly drier by nature, the washing pr 'SS is 

easier than in the case of soft wheat. The washing operation leaves from 1 to 5 per 
cent of water incorporated in the wheat, the cause of this variation depending mainly 
upon the quality of the wheat. It is desirable of course that tin- grain conserve a 

certain degr i humidity, which benefits more or less a subsequent dampening, and 

facilitates dec< irtication. 

The advantages of the application of moisture, either in connection 
with the scouring process about to lie described or as a succeeding 
operation, are thus set forth by Messrs. Millon & Mourin, of Algiers: 

The water, spreading readily upon the surface of the kernels, does not immedi- 
ately penetrate into the interior. Wherever the surface is dampened, tin- adherence 
of the external pellicle is destroyed: the external tegument of the tjrain separated 
by decortication then forms bran of a remarkable lightness. Above all, the milling 
of decorticated wheat proceeds with regularity unknown in the case of the dry- 
cleaned wheat. 

Water is therefore considered not only the most useful agent for 
cleaning wheat, even of such impurities as may lodge in the crevices 
of tbe kernels, but as one which facilitates the decortication itself. 
These are the considerations which have brought about the general 
adoption of some scouring device in France. The description below 
covers the essential points of the Savit & Boutet system for the puri- 
fying operation: 

In the basin of the device the water is taken at a temperature 
varying with the season. Now. when upon still water one drop- with 
care a grain of wheat with dry lingers, the grain floats a long time. 
If a pebble of the same size a- the grain of wheat is dropped similarly, 
it may float also, lint for a very short time, since the wheat has a 
density but little higher than that of water, and the pebble a density 
much higher. Upon this principle- the Savit & Boutet machine is con- 
structed. If. in place of depositing a grain with the fingers, it is 
dropped upon a curved surface with which the surface of the water 
forms a tangent, the wheat will still float. As to the pebbles, as they 
float but a short time, if the whole he permitted to continue in move- 
ment, the wheat will float to the end. while the pebbles will -ink 
quickly. Thus we may extract bodies of greater density than wheat 
without immersing the latter. The apparatus (fig. L) is composed of 
a flat receptacle J\ which turns upon an axis forming a basin covered 
with water regulated from 0. This basin possesses a flange around 
the edge, tending to prevent foreign bodies very slightly more dense 
than wheat from being swept along with it. The tube /'receives the 
27479 Xo. 20—02 2 



18 



\1\MI 'CTUKE OF SEMOLINA \M> MACARONI. 



grain, which ma\ be cul off b) shutter at V. This tube feeds the 
wheat upon cone E, the inclination of which is such thatthe grain may 
fall upon the water with nicely adjusted speed, the grain being dis- 
tributed upon the cone bj the distributor (babillard) B, which i- fixed 
nn the vertical tree .1. The basin P turns within and above a circular 
canal ' . composed of two portions, one receiving the wheat and com- 
pletely surrounding the basin; the other. < . embracing the arc 





Fig. 1.— Savil & Boutel device for washing snun. 
\ nder. 

nittcr cutting oft wheat. 
is, distributor. 

■ no ' ' 

le for sand, i 
movable collar. 

inducting ": 
d, first stream of water. 
ol water to 'lr:> 

<.. I; 

i >, passage tor h 

etfor wheat. 
P, tin 

R, sin. 

aducting whi 

V. . -:■ 

between the two jets of water d' and d" and receiving the particles of 
sand, etc. A cast-iron frame, G, supports the whole. 

The water arriving by the tube /' tills the basin, and playing with 
more or less pressure from the circular orifice spreads over tin- 
shallow basin and drains over the flange /.'. The depth of the water 
passing over the flange should be sufficient to allow the passage of a 
era in of w heat. The wheat distributed from the orifice drops first 



MANUFACTURE < <¥ SEMOLINA. 



19 



upon the cone l r .. then to the water, whence it floats, and is swept over 
I! and falls into the canal ('. the inclination of which is such that the 
grain goes quickly to the diving- column, where it is immediately 
dried. The distance across the surface of the basin is such that pebbles 
and other foreign particles have sufficient time to sink. 

As the basin rotates continually, the foreign matter remaining is 
brought under the jet of water d' which is so regulated that any heavy 




Fig. 2.— Drying column, with scouring device i c washing grain. 

grains of wheat remaining, and which might otherwise remain witli the 
stones, are swept over the flange also between two jets of water; there 
remain then only bodies of greater density than wheat, which are 
forced below the flange 12 and thence fall into the canal C and are 
cared for in a special receptacle. Thus it will he seen that the operation 
is performed without the immersion of the wheat, since the latter 
floats and is not much dampened. The operation of dampening 



20 MANUFACTURE OF SEMOLINA \M> MACARONI. 

begins after the wheal falls int<> the canal, and lasts until it enters 
the drying column. Tlii> operation continues about three seconds. 
The drying column designed originally by Pierre Cardilhac is shown in 
fig. -J. and consists of a perforated cylinder through which the grain 
rapidlj r , and is frequently so dry tha( ii must be redampened 
before the milling begins. The entire device is capable of treating 
30 hectoliters (67 bushels) per hour. 

PERCENTAGE OF SEMOLINA IN DIFFERENT WHEATS. 

The manufacturers of the best quality of semolina, known as 
"S. S. S.," expect the resultant product to be 60 to 65 per cent semo- 
lina, from 1l' to Lo percent flour, and from 18 to 20 per cent bran. 
Tliis proportion is quite different when the native metadine, or mixed 
wheats, are employed, in which event a smaller proportion id' semolina 
is expected, varying from 30 to W per cent, inferior in quality and 
containing impurities which reduce its value. The proportionate 
amount of flour is greater \\ ith these wheats, and the quality of the flour 
is better than that resulting from the grinding of the strictly macaroni 
wheats. The grinding of the pure macaroni wheat into flour is veiy 
rarely attempted, although in Algeria a good deal of flour is thus 
made, and the bread is of good flavor and \ erj nourishing. The tnanu 
fact u re of flour from macaroni wheat, in addition to other disadvantages, 
requires the expenditure of additional mechanical force. 

IMPORTANCE OF CLEANLINESS. 
The average hard wheat is said to contain from 8 to 12 per cent of 

moisture, which is considerably increased by the washing, as the pro- 
cess is now followed in Marseille. It naturally follow- that the semo- 
lina and flour of hard wheat retain their virtues for a length of time 
dependent upon the season in which they are manufactured. In winter 
thc\ will retain their original qualities for five or -ix month-, while in 
summer one or two u ths is perhaps the life of the product in mer- 
chantable condition, after which worms are very likely to he found in it, 
in which case the semolina must he resifted and iv I lolled. The increase 
of these worms i- prevented to a large extent in the French mill- by 
attention to cleanliness. In those mills which are cleaned twice a year, 
where w hitewash i- used with liberality, very few are ever -ecu. while 
in others, where less attention i- paid to detail- such a- these, the tim 
her- are covered with them. 

Ill E Mill ING 1'la M l 3S 

The American miller will probably add little in France to hi- know 1 
edge of mereh mechanical processes. I-Vh , if any, machines of French 
invention are employed in the French mill-, the Budapest process hav- 
ing been adopted and adapted to the peculiar local necessities. Ameri- 
can winnowing machines are in general use. Neverthless, illustrations 



MANUFACTURE OF SEMOLINA. 



21 



with proper explanation arc submitted of several of the devices essen- 
tial to the production of semolina. 

In the milling of the semolina wheat, the arrangement of the machin- 




Fig. :i. — Typical French milling machine with four cylinders. 

cry is not radically different from that required for the grinding of soft 
wheat into Hour. (See figs. .". and 4.) Thescouring process is identical. 
hut as the hard wheats used here contain a very much larger proportion 




Cross section of rollers used in producing semolina. 



of foreign matter than the soft wheats, the scouring is much more ener- 
getic, and is followed by a much more active winnowing process. The 
wheat, having been first dry-scoured in separators, winnowing machines. 



22 



MWil 'CTURE OF SEMOLINA \M> MACARONI. 



and culling machines, goes to the washing machine, and after the wash- 
ing is received in sacksor in bushel measures, where it reposes during 
the necessarj time. After the period of repose (varying from ten to 
furt\ hours), it is beaten and blown and brushed, and is then ready 
for the firsl crushing. 

The miller's object is to obtain the highest possible proportion of 
semolina, and the least possible proportion of flour. To do this, the 
cylinders work with no more pressure than is absolutely necessary in 

order thai the moistened bra ay detach itself from the w heal in large 

flakes and the grains of semolina be secured without be'ng unneces- 
sarily bruised. To facilitate this work there arc ordinarily two crush- 
ing operations in addition to those to which sofl wheal is subjected, 
during which the coarsesl semolina, passing through No. L6 bolting 
cloth, is \\ ithdrawn. After the crushing all the products are classified 




Fig. 5 

on " planchettes " according to their size, and are then transmitted to 
the bolters, which dean them. The most important operation is the 
final winnowing for the refinement of the semolina, and in order that 
this may be done under satisfactory conditions, it is essential that the 
semolina -hall first be classified according to size, well dried, and 
relieved of fine particles. Each class of the semolina thus obtained is 
then sifted separately, upon ventilated sifters, the dust and foreign 

matter being blown away, and tl lean semolina dropping through 

the sieves, from which it is delivered into sacks ready for the market. 

( 1 ISSI] [CATION OF PRODI I I S. 

The final operation in the production of semolina is performed in a 
machine known a~ a "sasseur" (fig. 5), the manner of operation 
( fig. •'>! being as follow s: 



Bui. 20, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept- of Agriculture. 



Plate II. 



Mii'ilkiiattii.iviaifaiHaaiiiMaMiI 
Jwt! mb uaaaaa* ana aBBaaaaaaa)aa> cut aal 

F^..v-...aaaa« j- v > ,-iMii«*«tii««a>l 

>:"»(va«»aaftu.nxA4,aNB«aH»a»nfl 
laaaawaaaana- uauaaaaaaaaaBai:^ 3 
■ B»fjaaaai:aaB*a«aaaaa»a«xa*ana£: J 

» a mm a o an a m m a a a oca »a as.a «««■ a* a a * d 
~ a * ■(>»■> a «*!•»■■■ «« 

:ii»i'<i« 

■Bjaaaaaa] 

aaiiiiaaaaigiaiaaaaiaaaaaajatj 

oaBB*a><3*BBBjB«ftamaaB8(BiiBaa*>ajwa«3 

Sa*»aa*ftaa»«aua»*>*B*caaaM*aaaKia3 
laaaiaaakaiiiiaaaaitiitiaiiaaad 
aaaaBaaaafa»«aaaaavaaaaaai>aaaal 
aaaaaaBaaaaaaaaBataaaaaaaaaaiBBBal 
a a an a «• mm a* a aa an bbb ana atmaaaaa 
kiaaaaaitaapaiaaanaiaaaaaaiaaaai 
■liaaaaaaiaaalaaaaacuiaiaataaai 
aaaaaaaaaaiaaaaaaaaaaaaaataaaai 
;iataia*aaaaiaiiaitt2iiis*aaaaai 



25 






Sk? 



■■*! .jr»: 



■■■•■■*■' 



I;:: 



I3!££_£lIZ25££*Iiaaa5SBa*»*a »iiaia ■•»•••■ 

::j«b !:::":::::;::h::::sh:::::::::i: 
e;:::::::::::.":. , ::::::::::::::::::::::| 



30 





35 



!£::•: 



40 




60 






Different Grades of Bolting Cloth for Separating and Classifying Semolina. 



Bui. 20. Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept of Agr.culture. 



Plate III. 



'•.•••. 






>. ••••• 










r.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.. • •••••' 

. •• • • •••••••••••••••• VA , 

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, . • • • ••• ••••• •••••• J 

• •*... •••••••••••• VA*A A , 

■ A • • ••••••••••••••••• • • • ' 

Y>>>.VAY.V.V.Y.YAY.V.V 
••.V.V./ a VAVAVA VAVA3 



• ••••••• • • • - 

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...... ••••• • •••• 

V. . . . • . v.. 

Ay. . . ••••••• • .• 

• • vay. . 

. . . • • •••••••••••••• • •/ 

...... ••••••: :;:! i r 

.V. . . . . • . • •••• 

....... •••••••••••••••••••• 

'.V. • V, 

WWW\ , 

,v. ..... v. v. • • •••• 

.V. ... ••••••••••••••••••••A 

.V.V.V.% . . . . . VA V.V.VAV.V 



•AV 



: : 






8 

;•:• 



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••••• 

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••!•• 

••••• 

a ■ m w a 



• ••' 

• ••' 

• ••' 

: ; 
:?: 



i 



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••• 
••• 



••• 

i 

iiii 



: : 



® 






Sieves used in the Sasseur. 



MANUFACTURE "F SEMOLINA. 



23 



The unpurified and unclassified semolina is delivered upon the separator or sieve 
of waxed paper I rL r . <>, A-A i, upon which it is continually shaken while a current of 
air passes upward from below. The rounded, polished grains of semolina which 
are too large to pass through the sieve are carried forward in the direction shown 
by the arrows pointing toward the left, and is finally delivered int.. r-aeks. The 
smaller grains fall through the sieve, in the direction indicated by the arrow - point- 
r» nward, and are afterwards reclassified. The lighter portions l Sour, etc. i are 
carried upward by the current of air. the heavier particles dropping backward onto 
the smaller sieves. B B, and the flour dust being expelled in the direction of the 
arrows pointing upward. 




11,1 sassi ur in i iperation. 



The French semolina is classified according to size, the trade terms 
being - as follows: 

Semolina silted, passing through sievi — 

No. 20 to No. 25 "G. G." 

X... 25 t.. No. 30 "M. G." 

No. 30 to X... 40 "S. S. S. G." 

No. 40 to No. oil "S. S. F." 

No. 50 to No. (10 "S. S. s. V." 

No. 60 to No. 70 >_ ",S. F. S." 

No. 70 to No. 80 "S. B." 

All the products passing through numbers 80 to 90 French silk, are 
classed as Hour. (See Plates II and III.) 

Of the flours that are produced during the manufacture of semolina 
from 10 to 12 per cent are known as "Gruau hard." and from 3 to 5 
per cent as "Minot hard." The hard Gruaus are produced from the 
operations of crushing and classification, and arc of fair quality. 
Minot hards are of inferior quality. All the other flours and products 
of the grinding, except those already enumerated, are classified as 
brans, and receive the following designations: (1) Flour. "F. B. D.;" 
(2) "Repasse hard:"' (3) Coarse hard bran. 



24 



MAM FACT! RE OF SEMOLINA \M> M.\< VRONI. 



Under average conditions 50,000 kilos of hard African wheat wil 
j ield the follow ing products: 



Fication. 



- 



- - - 






Quantity. 



1,800 






Percent- 











o\ v.. 




14 00 














41,000 
1,500 




F. B. D 




























' 102. 00 









. eed eeeds, etc. 
Excess ol 2 pi i eenl accounted roi by admixture of water. 

The average price of semolina is from 30 to 33 francs per LOO kilos 
(§5.79 to $6. 36 per 220 pounds). As much as I" francs ($7.72) and 
even 18 francs ($9.26) has been paid under exceptional market condi- 
tions, the lowest price recorded being 23 francs ($4.43) per 1"" kilos. 
The wholesale price of macaroni, which contains practically no raw 
material other than semolina, averages from I s to 50 francs ($9.26 
to $9.65 1 per 220 pounds. 

MANUFACTURE OF MACARONI. 

While Marseille at the present time leads the world in the manufac- 
ture of semolina, this is not yet true of the edible pastes manufactured 
from semolina. There arc in this city some 10 small manufacturers 
of macaroni, each averaging from 300 to 100 kilos per working day, 
and depending upon a local and restricted trade. There ai'e 5 or 6 
important concerns producing from 1,000 to L,500 kilos each per day. 
The firm of Rivoire <§ (arret, for example, manufacture from 15,000 

tn I'n. kil< >~ per day, and have two factories in different parts of 

the city. Another house, that of 1-'. Scaramelli Fils, which exports 

very heavily t<> the United State-, turns out from .">. to •'>.' kilos 

per <la\ . The firm of Rivoire <£ Carrel have large factories also at 
Pari-. Lynn, and Mulhouse in Switzerland. The total production of 
edible pastes in Marseille amounts to 15,000 kilos per day, and this 
i- probably equaled '>\ the production of Lyon. In Switzerland there 
are also \ en important concerns, and, as I said before, the business is 
steadily increasing everj h here. 



manufacture of macaroni. 25 

the process. 

The generic term for edible pastes in France is " pates alimentaires." 
We are accustomed in the United State- to speak of these artii les as 
"macaroni," but in point of fact macaroni is merely one of a hundred 
different forms in which edible pastes are produced. The composition 
is much the same in all cases, the different designations referring to 
form and size. The method of manufacture is comparatively simple, 
as modern mechanical methods are simply enlargements of the old 
famity process by which the housewife mixed flour and water, kneaded 
the batch, rolled it into sheets, cut it into strips, and hung it out 
to dry. In the modern factory the semolina is measured into a steel 
pan about 8 feet in diameter, within which travels a stone wheel. 
Water is added, the machine is put in motion, the wheel moves slowly 
around the pan, thus kneading the batch until it attains proper con- 
sistency, .lust ahead of the wheel is set a small steel plow, to gather 
and turn over the mass so that it falls under the rim of the approach- 
ing wheel, thus guaranteeing an even kneading of the whole amount 
of semolina measured out. From the kneading machine the dough 
passes to steel presses (Plate IV. tig. 1). by which it i> converted into 
marketable form. From the presses the product goes to the drying 
rooms, where it is seasoned, after which it is packed and placed on the 
market. 

All of the foregoing is apparently easy and few pitfalls are observ- 
able. Nevertheless, before the batch is prepared for the petrin or 
kneading machine, a practical test is made with each lot of semolina 
to determine the amount of gluten it contain-. A kilo of semolina is 
put into a basin of water and kneaded by hand until the starch and 
other matters disappear in the washing and the gluten remains in the 
hand. The loss of gluten by this method amounts to 60 grains in a 
kilo of semolina. The gluten remaining after the starch is kneaded 
out is weighed and the batch for the petrin is prepared with refer- 
ence to the amount of gluten found in the raw material. Here is 
where skill and experience begin to count. If, for example, an 
attempt should be made to manufacture a given quantity of macaroni 
from a certain amount of high-grade semolina and the same quantity 
from the same amount of tine flour produced by grinding the same 
wheat, the macaroni produced from the semolina would be very unlike 
and very superior to that produced from the flour. The flour having 
been crushed into powder is so separated that what the macaroni man- 
ufacturer calls its ••force" is completely lost, and the macaroni is 
brittle and dull of appearance. On the other hand, the macaroni made 
from the semolina would be translucent and elastic, and. after having 
been cooked, the lengths of the macaroni still retain their form. These 



•Ji\ MANUFACTURE OF SEMOLINA VND MACARONI. 

are the qualities sough! by the manufacturer of macaroni: A bright, 
clear appearance, elasticity before cooking, and sufficient " force" t" 
retain the original form after having been cooked. 

MIXING MM SEMOLINA. 

There is more g uten in the Russian wheal than in the Algerian, and 
the semolina manufactured into macaroni without an admixture would 
in >i i.nU be dark and dull, l>ut would be very hard upon the machinery 
of the factory. Algerian semolina, on tl thar hand, if manufac- 
tured into macaroni, would be too brittle to satisfy the requirements 
of the trade. A mixture must therefore be made in which there will 
be from 15 to 50 per ceni of moisl gluten. 

The important matter of mixing the different kind- of semolina 
together having been attended to, the water is next introduced into the 
steel pan, the quantity vai-ying from 20 to 27 kilograms per LOO kilo- 
grams of semolina, depending somen hat upon the nature of the edible 
paste to be manufactured and the humidity of the semolina itself. This 
proportion is determined by the experienced judgment of the manu- 
facturer. Very slighl differences in the a unt of water are necessary 

for the production of various kinds of pastes, the vermicelli requiring 
a shade less than an\ of the others. The mixture of semolina and 
water properly kneaded supplies the true macaroni, but with the 
increase in competition and changes in j > 1 1 1 > 1 "n • taste, a demand has 
arisen for an edible paste in which eggs are kneaded, and manufac- 
turer- also introduce rice Hour, corn Hour, and potato flour. To sat- 
isfy an entirely local clientele, garlic is occasionally introduced. The 
same is true of edible pastes into which the juice of carrots, turnip-. 
cauliflower, and cabbage is mixed. These varieties of the article are 
quite unknown in the United State-. The rice. corn. and. potato flours 
are onl\ employed to affect the color of the finished product and the 
cost of the same, these adulteration- are only used in the case of the 
cheaper macaronis. 

The paste of the highest grade is translucent and of the -hade of 
very light amber. Pure white macaroni ma\ seem more attractive. 
but it- color i- often due to the admixture of rice flour. The cheaper 
hard w heat- alwa\ - produce a dark semolina, and their color musl be 
toned up in order to make them marketable. In the case of macaroni 
of the first quality the whitening i- brought about bj the kneading 
process, which is continued from thirty-five minute- to fifty minute-. 
< >rdinarv paste is kneaded thirty ti\ e minute-, and the extension to fifty 
minute- i- onlj in exceptional cases and for the production of a super- 
fine article. 'The difference between an ordinary white macaroni and 
that of an equally white cheaper macaroni can be distinguished by 
holding lengths of them up to the light. The rice-flour macaroni will 
be found to be dull white like a sheef of paper, while the thoroughly 
kneaded and better nualitj of macaroni will be translucent. 



MANUFACTURE OV MACARONI. 27 

CURING OPERATIONS. 

After the kneading of the paste and its manufacture into forms, the 
skill of the expert is again called into play while the curing process 
takes place. 

In discussing the matter with me, Mr. Francois Scaramelli said: 

This is the most delicate feature of the business. I believe that it takes about twenty 
years to get a factory into thorough running order. Fm- fifteen years I myself have 
given instructions to one of my most competent men on the subject of 'Irving, in order 
to give to myself more personal leisure. Yet to-day if that man is left entirely alone, 
difficulty is likely to occur. To know exactly when the macaroni is "ripe," so to 
speak, and ready for the market, amounts to an intuition. It is absolutely Impossi- 
ble to establish cut-and-dried methods. Personal experience must be the only guide. 
It is right at this point, in my opinion, that the first efforts to manufacture macaroni 
in the United States have not succeeded. The promoters have not had sufficient 
patience in going about their work. They have expected to accomplish in a few 
years that for which we have required a lifetime of labor. I have seen some Ameri- 
can macaroni, and my main criticism on it is that it is not solid, though in every 
otherrespect it leaves something to be desired. If a macaroni is permitted to "take 
cold," as I may express it. during the drying process, in spite of its condition as 
respects the quantity of gluten and the duration of the kneading process, it lacks 
the elasticity which a perfect macaroni should have. When the product is properlj 
cured, one should be able to take a section a meter long, and, holding it up by the 
end, it should bend readily, like a whip, without breaking. The same macaroni 
improperly cured will break; it will break before cooking and it will be still more 
brittle after having been cooked. This elastic quality causes the macaroni after 
cooking to retain its original form, desired by all lovers of the food, while the inferior 
article melts together and becomes more like paste. 

Iii all of the large factories the macaroni is dried in rooms in which 
the temperature is kept at about TO F., except in summer, when the 
weather alone regulates this matter. Vermicelli and macaroni are 
hung on racks, and the edible pastes molded into forms are placed in 
drawers. This is the so-called "French system," and any variation in 
the temperature causes the macaroni to warp. The small manufactu- 
rers have great difficulty in curing their product, and it must be con- 
sumed within a week or so. or the deterioration in the quality is so 
rapid that customers protest. 'More carefully prepared macaroni. 
especially if it is packed in tight boxes, retains its excellence from six 
months to a year in ordinary climates, although every •■gourmet" who 
cares much for this food insists that the sooner it is eaten after coming 
from the factory the better. I am satisfied that there is some truth 
in this claim, as I have frequently observed very marked difference in 
the quality of macaroni served upon my own table, when bought at 
tlie same shop and tit the same price. This deterioration is what most 
strongly confirms my opinion that edible pastes will not become a 
staple article of diet in the United States until we have domestic manu- 
factories so organized that the consumer may be always assured of 
fresh merchandise. 



28 MANUFACTURE OF SEMOLINA \M> MACARONI. 

While the drying process in rooms seems to be best adapted to the 
manufacture of macaroni on a large scale, it i- -till claimed that the 
merchandise cured in the open air is better than thai cured by artifi 
cial heat. Mr. Scaramelli attributes the success of a number of Nea- 
politan manufacturers who secure their semolina from Marseille to 
the fact of their adherence to this old fashioned method. Many trav- 
elers <an recall having seen in Naples, upon the roofs of dwellings, 
wooden frames with the family supply of macaroni drying thereon. 
Mr. Scaramelli himself has recently adopted this system (Plate IV, 
fig. 2) for a part of his output, and is well satisfied with his success. 
The process requires the closes! supen ision, as, after the merchandise 
becomes once dry, it is taken to a "chamber of repose," a ventilated 
but closed room, and after remaining there se\ eral hour- is again hung 
in the open air for five or more hours, and thru a second time is sent 
to the chamber of repose, after which it is taken to the packing room 
and placed i »n sale. 

This frequent switching about of the macaroni from the open air 
to the chamber of repose and back again is caused by the fact that 
when first exposed to the open air che product begins to dry from 
the outside, and if permitted to remain too long would warp. To 
prevent this it is taken to the dark room before completely cured, 

where it straightens itself , the moisture fr the center spreading 

throughout the thickness of the paste. When it is judged that the 
same degree of humidity exists in every portion of the macaroni it 
again goes into the open air, so that the remaining moisture may lie 
expelled. Very much the same care is given to this drying process as 
to the seasoning of lumber, the object being to assure thoroughness 
and to pre\ ent wai - ping. 

The open-aii- curing process is not applicable, of course, to the dry- 
ing of the "petits pfites" (the small form- stars, circles, etc.) (Plate 
V), and Mr. Scaramelli ha- within a few months devised a system for 
treating them in large revolving cylinders of metallic netting in a room 
heated by -team. When his apparatus is t'iill\ completed these " petit- 
pate-" will be carried by pneumatic power in tubes from the pressing 
room to the divine- chamber, where they will di'op in a continual 
stream into the continually revolving cylinders. Bach cylinder is 
capable of drj ing 1 20 kilograms every two hours. From the cylinder 
the "petite pates" descend l>\ gravity to a mechanical sifter, after 
w hich thej are placed in boxes. 

Most of the mechanical operations in the factories are carried on by 
men: the majority of the labor is undertaken by women and girls. 
Men arc paid from 3.50 to L50 franc- (67 to 86 cents) per day: women 
from 1 to 2.25 franc- (ill to 13 cents), and boys from 1 to L.65 francs 
t L9 to 3] cents) per day. 



Bui. 20, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S Dept. of Agriculture, 



Plate IV. 



^*Si n^Sf 


Tin ' 


m 


K L -. 






tap 




^Sl—-^^^% 


K. JWr M 


WT * 


mm' M r ^J 

ft J *. J 



Fiq. 1.— Vermicelli Press at the Factory of F. Scaramelli 
Fils. 




Fiq. 2.— Section of Open-air Curing Department at the Factory of 
F. Scaramelli Fils. 



Bui. 20, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 



Plate V. 










<t 



[WTTVyWYW 



<S 




G% 



a. 






a. 



a. 




©o (lis & G U Q 



O d v © 



VARIOUS FORMS OF MACARONI. 

d. CONTAIN EGG. 



TABLES OF EXPORTS, IMPORTS, AMD PRICES. 



29 



The most careful economy is observed, all ends and broken pieces 
of paste being saved, and after the accumulation of a considerable 
quantity the whole is boiled for two or three minutes, then mixed 
with fresh macaroni, and worked up into macaroni of secondary 
quality. 

DURUM WHEAT FOR BREAD FLOUR. 

Before leaving Mr. Scaramelli's factory I was supplied by him with 
the following interesting information on the subject of flour: The besl 
type of Provencal wheat, which is of the soft variety, and known as 
""Tuzelle."' is very highly valued, and produces a very white flour. 
Another flour commonly manufactured in Marseille is known as the 
"Berdiansk." This is the product of the Russian wheat of the same 
name, and the flour is strong in gluten, and darker than the Tuzelle. 
The two are mixed in the city, generally in the proportion of 20 kilo- 
grams of Russian and -10 kilograms of Provencal. The mixture pro- 
duces a standard type of bread in this city, and both of these flours are 
required throughout southern France, and are known as far north as 
Lyon. In Paris bread is manufactured wholly from local flour, and 
in order to secure the required amount of proteids bakers mix with 
their flour from 2 to 4 per cent of bean flour. However, even with 
this addition, the Parisian bread contains less gluten than that of 

Marseille. 

TABLES OF EXPORTS, IMPORTS, AND PRICES. 
Exports of semolina from Marseille, '»/ countries. 



Russia 

Sweden 

Ni trway 

Denmark ... 
England — 

Germany 

Holland 

Belgium 

Switzerland. 

Spain 

Austria 

Italy 

Turkey 

Gre ice 



Malta . 

Egypt 

Tripoli 

Morocco 

Algeria 

Tunis 

Neutral zone 

Other countries and ships' provisions 



Total 64,603,073 10,472,217 37,259,819 



Kilos. 

1,035 - 

756 601 

492 

'JIT. '.isn 

323,998 

■J, 672, 620 

326,599 

200, 300 

LO l'': :- • 

773,841 

637,220 

1,715,822 

711, Mill 



1,47:;. 777 
2,580,577 
1,070,100 
3. 390. 403 
5,012,324 
29,892,241 



748, 188 



Kilos. 
1,162,467 
675,089 



132,757 

702,086 

2, 108, 157 

! ... i : 
261,489 

8, 709. 651 

II..S.S):, 

H.7 220 
B99.773 
379,835 



40,645 

1,250,657 

321,943 

1,340,923 

14,637,230 



Kilos. 
1,559,004 
934 590 

985 
126, 131 
514,906 

2, 734. 343 
933,992 
272.670 

9,308,214 
143,002 
482,836 

2, 141',, 192 

1,643,181 



i ',"7 



'JOS, 57S 

940,803 

1M. 160 

126, 940 

2, 465. 432 

11,927,622 

491.941 

23,988 



J. 15 ',"'-.7 

i, ir. ■•> 

7,9.9 

,S4. 629 

i,7- 630 

1,993,307 

lis v-.; 

279, 453 

10,671,287 

347, 117 

II 675 
1,595 505 

I I 

12.919 

102, 172 

II:, 101 

774, 5: 16 

175, 1126 

2. 125, ',169 

11,715,560 

03,44 

28, 186 






.".II MANUFACTUR1 OF SEMOLINA ami MACARONI. 



irk 
England — 

Ml 

rland . 

fal . 

Spain 
Austri; 

Italy . 

mia . . 

Kuliraria 

Malta 
Egypt 



Mauri Hi 
India. 

Dutch I 
China . 



Japan . 






Cruguay . . - . 
Canada 

Haiti 

Central ' 

■ 

Madagascar 

French In 

> 

French ' 
Martinique 

Otherc 



11.726 













• [ncludii 



i 

Turkey in Europe, and Danube principalities 19 

Turkeyin Asia 51,288 

Australia '.'7. 875 

t'nited States i 

Argentina 275, 125 

eria 

Tunis . I 



TABLES OF EXPORTS, IMPORTS, AND PRICES. 31 

Quintals. 

1900. Naples 89 

French ports 8, 839 

T< ital 5, 676, 189 

1 899 7, 255, 985 

1898 9,886,243 

1897 6,808,727 

1896 7, 735, 1 N is 

Rangt of prices of semolina pt r WO kilos at Marst Hit during the years 1885 to inno." 
Year. Highi st. Lowest. 



1885 . 

1886 . 

1887 . 

1888 . 

1889 . 

1890 . 

1891 . 

1892 . 
L893 . 

1894 . 

1895 . 

1896 . 
1S97 . 
1898 . 
l?-99 . 
1900 - 



ancs. 


Prancs. 


32.00 


27.00 


31.50 


28.00 


i fl 


26.00 


26.50 


24.50 


25.50 


24.00 


27.00 


23.50 


31.00 


24.00 


30 50 


23.511 


27.00 


22.00 


22.00 


14.00 


16.50 


16.00 


_'.; 00 


14.80 


28.50 


18.00 


13.00 


26.50 


27.00 


22.00 


27.50 


23. 50 



- Supplied bj (J. P. Botti 
Values of declared exports of macaroni and vermicelli to the United States for the year moo. 



< tountry. 


For quarter ended — 


For the 


March 31. 


June 30. 


September 30. 


December 31. 


year. 


France: 


54,346.55 
1,314.81 

17,096.00 
6,921.36 

'.170. 90 


8834.92 


825,012.66 

7 176 7.1 

10,326.45 
9,679.91 


S1U, 324. 29 
■7. 228. 7,4 

21,203.75 

18,903 57 

593 18 


840,518.42 
5,919.66 






Marseille 


7,96 i ii 
■j'.<7.7i; 


1 :, 169.95 








Total 


29,949.62 


9,097 79 


47, 397,. 33 


53, 253. 63 


139,696.37 


Italy: 

Castellamare di Stabia 


118,046 69 
6,491.45 

-77 60 
2,518.36 

19. 643. 00 
4.VJ. 30 


130.1>:;.:;'.i 
10. 618. 27 


103,041.63 

0. 856. 48 

svl. 40 

576. 99 

4,518.00 

125. 16 


149,742.25 

13, 543. 77 
2,822. Hi 
1,788.36 

■1 1.004. 00 
1.041.10 


501,013.96 

37,509.97 

1. >92. Ml 

6, 228. is 

54,900.00 

1,803.10 






1,344.77 

6. 7:15. 00 

1-1 M 




Tot.il , 


148,029.40 


149,065.97 


116,010.66 


192,941.01 


mill, hit. c,7 




Spain: 




1. 163.60 








Austria; 






602 >'.:■ 































o 






' -X-. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



021 534 261 A 



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